


love and identities

by orphan_account



Category: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux, Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber
Genre: Bisexuality, Coming Out, F/M, Headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:01:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26914054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Raoul and Christine find out something similar about each other. Bisexual Raoulstine headcanon.
Relationships: Raoul de Chagny/Christine Daaé
Kudos: 13





	love and identities

**Author's Note:**

> This is a personal self-projection to my comfort characters, so if you personally agree with it feel free to enjoy this little scenario I had in my head. :)

It had been quite the eventful month for Christine, initially meeting her Angel of Music and reuniting with childhood best friend Raoul. With the chandelier accident which she is sure has been the product of her teacher’s rage, there was nothing the girl wanted more than to have some peace and quiet. 

The Vicomte, despite his earlier disbeliefs, came to his senses on the situation and checked on her every moment that he could. Christine could not be any more grateful for this. There was an unusual silence in the weeks that followed, and she opted not to think too hard on possible consequences. For now, she was happy with a man she loves. She was ready to take her mind off the worry, and Raoul took no hesitation to treat her on dates. 

The two young lovers reconnected fast, their comfortable dynamic resembling that of when they were children yet elevated now that it has bloomed into a happy romance. They showed eagerness to be with each other, and soon enough they have learned everything there is to know about the other ever since their last meeting. 

Almost everything, that is.

In their years apart Christine has grown to know her identity better, which greatly involved the topic of sexuality. Shortly before she and Raoul were separated it occurred to her that she did have great feelings for him, yet in the following experiences of being in the opera house she found that her attraction was not just limited to men. In fact, her past two relationships were with women.

She has spent a lot of the last years surrounded by people of all backgrounds, which had made her discover a part of herself she never gave much thought about before. A lot of the performers shared similar realizations, which in turn have made them close friends. Being in an environment where she was freely herself has made her forget that the real world was not as open. She only hopes that Raoul is far from that world. She knew him well enough that he’s sweet and considerate, but how far did it go? Did anything about him change?

This was a topic she was willing to stay internalized for a while, yet during one of their dinners she accidentally slipped the pronoun _‘she’_ in the discussion of her previous partners. To this Raoul looked up in sudden intrigue. He was wide eyed.

“She-?” He asked in a low voice. 

His reaction alarmed Christine, for one that she was not careful, and two, that his reaction was very visibly surprised. All that raced her mind was to avoid the stress of dealing with it right now. 

“Sorry, I meant ‘ _he’_ , please forget I said that, dear..” She quickly hid her previous statement, yet the reaction was enough to expose her fright.

“All right.” He simply replied, despite seeming like he wanted to pry more on it. 

She cannot read what that reaction was all about, and she thought about it a lot afterwards. It concerned her if it meant he was against it, and she seemed to never get peace unless she really found out. 

Christine eventually came to the decision to tell him about this. If he ends up resenting her for any reason because of this revelation, she will find no reason to stay with such a man. There was a little hint of doubt, yet she was positive she had nothing to worry about. She really hoped, anyway.

It was a cool afternoon, and the couple went on a small picnic. Seeing the privacy of being the only two in the open space, she took this opportunity to make the confession. “Raoul, can I tell you something?”

His blonde hair swayed with the wind, and he gazed into the distance before Christine called for his attention. He turned and eagerly approached near. “Christine, are you alright?” He took her hand.

“Not to worry, nothing’s happening.” She replied. “I just have to tell you something important about me...”

Despite his confusion, he nodded. “Go on.”

She inhaled. “Do you recall when I told you I have been in a romantic relationship with two other people before you? I left out an important detail about that. They were not… men.” Each word was spoken slowly, but she gained a push to finish what she wished to say. “That would make my attractions not limited to men. I have been with other women.”

To this, Raoul’s eyes widened upon the revelation. “Oh.” 

The silence was killing her. She could not read his reaction, but she let a few seconds settle in before continuing to speak. “Whatever your thoughts on it, it is going to be important to me. It is who I am, Raoul.” 

“Oh, please don’t take my stunned silence as newfound hatred for you, Christine.” He kissed her knuckles in assurance. He continued, “It is simply my first time hearing things spoken like that, especially from someone who does feel such attractions.”

“Well, I’m relieved you are not repulsed to such ideas! I was worried that our love would have ended right here and then.”

“Never! I love you, Christine Daae. I pray you will always remember that.” He tucked the hair that was in front of Christine’s ear. 

“Then it’s all good then.” All Christine could do was smile in relief. 

“Of course.” His face mirrored hers.

She was about to approach him nearer to give him a kiss, but Raoul glanced down and frowned. He bit his lip and stayed in conflicted silence.

“Raoul? It is all good, right?”

“Sorry.” He took a shaky breath. “I-I have something to confess to, if you don’t mind.” He spoke softly, minimizing his volume.

“Oh. Of course, dear.” She offered a supportive smile, and sat closer beside him. She reached for his hand and whispered, “Go on.”

“When you said you were with a woman with such confidence, it truly surprised me. I have grown with comments leaning towards the distaste of such, and so I avoided these conversations. But, I need to share something that I… felt…”

He inhaled deeply, and to this Christine gave a reassuring squeeze. She nodded at him to start.

“You already know that I was part of the French navy, and of the many perilous adventures I have encountered. Despite all that, one story dominated my thoughts in those months aboard the ship.

I ended up developing a friendship with a man my age. He was quite uptight, and my very fun ways found him and I into amusing situations that we both enjoyed. That was what I thought. Somewhere along the months I’ve come to have an attachment to him. At first it was platonic but I have come to realize these feelings were almost similar to- what I felt about you, Christine. Back then. Perhaps even deeper than what I felt as a boy. 

I decided it was time to do something about it, and I decided to steer the conversation towards it. When he got the idea, he felt disgusted and wished that we no longer speak to each other. Just like that, I was lonely and quiet on board that ship.” 

Christine looked at him with pity, silent after the realization that he went through something similar yet was treated differently. Raoul looked down in shame.

“For a long time I always thought perhaps it was the different circumstances- being at sea and having little women around- yet even after I found myself to have attractions to people who were not women. I noticed some of my brother’s friends making such negative comments on homosexual men, so I was afraid to even confide with Philippe. I believed there was something wrong with me, a temporary illness, but-”

She faced him, and put a hand on his face. “Raoul, look at me.” She urged. 

Raoul’s eyes were watering, and it broke her heart to see him doubt himself. 

She continued, “I am sorry that you never received the support you much deserved. You, my dear, are worthy of love.”

“Oh Christine-“ He gave a small smile. “How I wish I heard that back in the nights I doubted myself. I was alone, and knew no one to confide in with my experiences.”

“And I wish I was there, or someone else was.”

He sniffed. “I am so sorry if my reaction earlier was a bit odd, but it was the first time I have heard someone else share something that was precisely what I felt. It meant I was not alone and it is not.. Wrong.”

“Of course it’s not!” She assured him. “And even if everyone else in your life believes it so, I am here. I’m just like you, and there is nothing wrong with feeling like such. I still love you, Raoul.” She leaned against his shoulder.

“I’m just glad I got to finally say it.” He sighed in relief, letting out a little laugh. “God, for how long I’ve kept it in...”

“I’m happy you did as well. I think it’s lovely we share this similarity.” 

“Even more reasons why I’m so glad to have met you again.” He murmured. He looked deep into her eyes, still fresh from tears, and cupped her face. He uttered the words that were as true as when he said it the hundreds of times before. “I love you.”

She pulled him closer to kiss him. Raoul exhaled in relief and held her with much need and affection.

All was well, and the two young lovers sat in comforted silence in the knowledge and acceptance of each other.


End file.
